Meat tenderizing machine



G. R. WOOD MEAT TENDERIZING MACHINE Aug. 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 11, 1946 l I I I I I I I f mmvrox.

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ATTORNEYS G. R. WOOD MEAT TENDERIZING MACHINE Aug. 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1946 INVENTOR. e ,9. Mod

ATTORNEYS 26, 1952 G, OD 2,607,950

MEAT TENDERIZING MACHINE Filed April 11, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 w w M IN V EN TOR.

fi g M fearye A? VI 00a ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 26 1 95? MEAT TENDERIZING MAQHINE George Rue Wood; Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Toledo'Scale' Company, Toledo; Ohio, at corporationof New -Jersey Application April 11 1946, Serial No. 661,445

" 3'Glaims.

This invention relates to meat tenderizingmachines and in particular to an improved arrangement of the parts of a tenderizing machine, the improved arrangement contributing to greater ease of operation. I v

When operating an ordinary meat tenderizing machine the operator must catch the meat as it leaves the tenderizing rolls'and spreadgit out on a display tray or sheet of paper. This is usually inconvenient because the operators attention is devoted to, feedingth'e meat into the machine and to watching for pieces of bone which would damage the machine.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a meat tenderizingimachine having a reciprocable paper-covered trayadapted to receive the meat as it'leaves the'tenderizing rolls.

Another object of the invention" is to provide in a meat tenderizing machine employing 'a gear drive between the motor and the rolls in which the drive gears are constantly supplied with lubricant. I

A still further object of the invention is to provide a meat tenderizing machine which is compact and in which all of the mechanism is readily accessible for servicing. I

These and other objects and advantages are apparent from the following description of a meat tenderizing machine embodying the invention'.

The improved meat tenderizing machine is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: I v

Figure, I is a perspective viewof the machin as seen from the operators side.

Figure II is an enlarged plan view, with parts a broken away and other parts shown in section, of the improved meat tenderizing machine.

Figure 111 is a vertical section taken'substana I tially along the line III- 111 of Figure II.

Figure IV is a fragmentary view at an enlarged scale of the bearing for the reciprooable table as v seen from the line IV--IV of Figure II. V

Figure V is a fragmentary perspective view of one of. the paper clamps- V Figure V1 is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially along the line VI VI of Figure II'. v I d D Figure VII is a fragmentary vertical section taken substantially along the line VII.VII of news IT. I 7

Figure VIII is. a side elevationof the tenderizing machine illustrating the relationshipof the reciprocable slide -l ssee? t sensin o These specific figures and the accompanying description are intended merely to illustrate the 1' invention but not to impose limitations'on the claims. I

The improved meat tenderizing machinev is contained within a generally L-shaped housing having a motor containing compartment I, a' shelf 2 extending alongthe side of the motor" compartment I and transversely thereto near, one of its ends. A cover 3 having asemicylindri-Q cal portion 4 overlying the motor compartment I and a roof-shaped portion 5 overlying'the trans verse portion of the shelf 2 completes theen-j closure. Meat to be tenderized is, inserted 1 through a slot 6 extending alongg the ridge of," the roof-shaped portion 5 of the cover 3, is'tena 1 derized by knife-bearing arbors .and is dropped" onto a reciprocably mounted tray I which carries the meat forward to a position convenient to the operator.

A driving motor 8 controlledby aiswitch 9 is mounted in the motor compartment I with its armature shaft IIl extending into a gearboxjI'I constructed integrally within the end" of the. motor compartment I. The motor shaft III car ries a worm I2 meshing 'with' a worm wheel I3. pinned to a cross shaft I4 which shaft is jour"-ii naled in bearings I5 and I6 formed'in the'sidei walls of the gear box I I.

A spur gear I! pinned to the cross shaft 'jI4j meshes with a similar spur gear I8 pinnedonto the end of a short shaft I9'journaled in a bearing 20. The shafts I4 and I9 extending through the side wall of the gear box 'I I are provided with .oil seals 21 and 22 and have their external ends machined to form relatively large hexagonal sockets 23 and 24.

A pair of meat tenderi'zing rolls ea'ch consisting of an arbor 25-carrying a plurality off toothed knife disks 26 spaced suing the arbor? by washers 21 and clamped'on thefarbor 25 be-{ tween a hexagonal "headi28' and a'nut 2 9 are located in the space immediately-beneath the roof-shaped portion 5 of the cover 3; The hex agonal heads 28 of the arbors fit into the hexagonalsockets 23 and. 24 while tenons3ll extend=f ing fromthe other ends of the arbo'rs are jour= naled in removable bearings 3| fitted'inanupstanding portion 32 of the shelf 2. The remov able bearingsil are held inplace by the 'engagement of the tips .of setscrews 33 with :L-shapea; grooves out. in the external cylindrical sur' faced the :bearings 3 I. Thedirections of the' short endiof the L-shaped grooves 34 aresueh' that.:;the :normal rotationoftthe arbors 2 i teifds to hold the bearings securely in place. The tenderizing rolls may be removed for cleaning by rotating the removable bearings 3I against the The end thrust applied to the motor shaft I by the worm I2 and worm wheel I3 is. carried by a hardened steel ball 35 located within the bore of the worm I2 and pressed against the end of the armature shaft III by a flat-ended screw 35 threaded through the end wall ofthe gear box II and locked in place by a set screw 31.

Inasmuch as the armature shaft I0, the cross shaft I4and the short shaft I9 each have an oiljsealit ispractical to provide oil bath lubrication for the gears.

Meat that is dropped through the slot 6 is guided through a chute formed between a front comb 38 and a rear comb '39 which chute extends between the arbors 25 so that the meat is passedbetween and tenderized by the tenderizing rolls and then is stripped from the rolls by the lowerends of the combs. The combs are supported from notched plates 40 and 4i screwed or otherwise secured to the housing at points above the ends of the arbors. Teeth of the rear comb 39, the comb engaged by theleft one of the tenderizing rolls, as seen in Figures II or VII, extends generally downwardly and forwardly with the lower end of the teeth directed toward the front of the machine. The teeth of the front comb 38 extend straight down to the level of the front tenderizing roll then they sweep forward and downward so that they pass the peripheries of the teeth at a point generally below the arbor and. thence extendforward horizontally.

As themeat which is dropped through the slot 6 slides down between the combs it is caught by the knives and tenderized. As it emerges from thespace between the rolls the rear comb strips it from the rear roll and presses it against the front roll. A short time later the generally horizontal portion, of the front comb 38, aided by ravity. .strips the meat from the front roll so that it drops free and clear onto the tray I. The teeth of the front comb 38, that comb last acting on the meat, must .be sufiiciently long so that strings of sinew which might be drawn betweenthe teeth cannot lift the tenderized meat and wrap it around the roll.

The tray I passes closely below the tenderizing rolls so that the tenderized meat as it is discharged forwardly by the actionof the tenderizing rolls pushes the tray I forwardly so that the tenderized meat is delivered to an open, easily accessible location. In order that this type of operation may be successful it is necessary that the tray move with a minimum of friction. The tray I isysupportedfrom a'bar 42 located beneath the shelf 2 and parallel to the path of the tray I. The bar has V grooves 43 and 44 forming tracks along itssides extending its full length. A carriage 45 carrying the'tr'ay I has ball'bearing raceways' 46 and 4'! cut in elongated blocks r 4 slightly greater than half of their height. The raceways 41 are square in cross section. The raceways 46 and 41 at each end of the elongated block 48 are connected by semi-circular raceways 49 so that a continuous track is formed for a series of steel bearing balls 50. During the working part of their travel the bearing balls 50 are confined withinthe raceways formed by the v grooves 43 and 44 and the opposed tracks 46. As the carriage 45 rolls along the bar 42 the bearing maintain essentially friction-free support for the carriage 45.

48 attached to the carriage 45 and lying alongside the bar 42. 'I 'he'raceways' 46;,iuxtaposed to the Vgrooves 43 and .44 of thebar 42, are rectangular; in 1 .55 section: with their width horizontally A bracket 5|, rigidly secured to the carriage 45 and haping a plurality of laterally extending arms 52for1supporting the tray I, extends upwardly through a slot 53 cut in the shelf 2 parallelto the sides'of the motor compartment I.

The carriage 45 is provided with a pair of oppositely directed rubber bumpers 54 adapted to cushion the carriage as it reajches eitherendof its stroke.

For convenience in handling the tenderized meat, the tray 1 is covered with a pad of paper 55 (Figure V) held in place by spring clips 56 riveted to the underside of the tray and extending up and around its rear edge. In operation a stack or pad of paper is engaged under the clips 56 and one sheet is removed with each piece of tenderized meat. In normal use the tray Iis pushed to the. back end of its stroke, the position indicated by the broken hnes in Figure VIII, before the meat is dropped into the machine. The tenderized meat, as it is discharged from the-tenderizing rollers pushes the tray forward with suflicient force to drive it"to the position shown in solid lines in Figure VIII. The operator then lifts the top sheet of paper from the tray taking with it the slice of tenderized meat. v

Compared with ordinary tenderizing machines the improved tenderizer is'easy to use because the operator need not catch the tenderized. meat as it is discharged from the rolls. But more than this, the improved tenderizing machine offers other advantages. The cover 3 which is attached to the motor compartment I by hinges 5'! when, closed completely covers all of the. operating mechanism. .Yet when it is opened to give access I to the tenderizing rolls it also gives access to'the motor 3 and the gear box I I so that maintenance.

of these units is facilitated. The general arrangement of the tenderizer permits a very com: pact gear transmission to be used which, having, oilbath lubrication, contributes materially to its" unusually quiet operation.

While the described meat tenderizing machine illustrates the preferred form of the inventioni it is apparent that modifications may be made in, variousasp'ects of its design without losing the advantages of the invention-andthat therefore.

I the described embodiment should beconsidered as merely illustrative and not as defining the scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, I claim p a 1. In a machine for tenderizing meat, in combination, a generally L-sha'p edframe, a pair of knife earryingjarbors -journa-led"in 'a, first arm, of the L-shaped framefsaid'arbors being parallel and spaced so that the knives interdigitate, said arbors being spaced vertically so thatmeat ten-. derized thereby is discharged along'an inclined path toward the space between the arms of the L-shaped frame, aftrack mounted on and extend]- a ingalongfa secondarmoftlie frame, a tray that is mounted onand movable along the track and; 1; passes closely adjacent the lower of tlie'pair of" positioned to one end of its travel and to be driven by the tenderized meat toward the other end of its travel.

2. In a machine for tenderizing meat, in combination, a pair of arbors each carrying a plurality of knives that interdigitate with the knives of the other arbor, one of said arbors being displaced vertically and laterally of the other such that the discharge path of the tenderized meat is inclined downwardly, a track extending in a horizontal direction beneath the arbors and along the discharge path, a tray mounted on and freely movable along the track and adapted to pass directly beneath the arbors to catch the tenderized meat, said tray being driven along the track by the meat leaving the arbors.

3. In a machine for tenderizing meat, in combination, a pair of horizontal motor-driven knifebearing arbors, one of the arbors being displaced vertically and horizontally from the other such that the discharge path of the tenderized meat is inclined downwardly, a track that extends horizontally below and generally perpendicular to the arbors, a tray mounted to move back and forth along the track from a first position beneath and close to the arbors to a second position clear of the arbors, said tray being adapted to be driven from the first to the second position by tender ized meat discharged by the arbors.

GEORGE RUE WOOD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references-are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 519,209 Van Eyck May 1, 1894 880,589 Snelling Mar. 3, 1908 1,310,262 Van Berkel July 15, 1919 1,801,309 Gipe Apr. 21, 1931 1,837,607 Biggert, Jr Dec. 22, 1931 1,976,863 Van Berkel Oct. 16, 1934 2,051,207 Ferry Aug. 18, 1936 2,242,935 Ahrndt May 20, 1941 2,409,463 Ahrndt Oct. 15, 1946 2,420,549 McKee et al May 13, 1947 

